CROWN POINT | A high school cheerleader fell and cracked her skull during a practice session Tuesday morning before classes began at Crown Point High School.

The cheerleader, who friends say is a junior, is at St. Anthony Medical Center here. Hospital officials declined to release any information on her condition, citing the Healthcare Information Patient Privacy Act.

Crown Point High School Principal Ryan Pitcock only would say that a student was injured during a practice situation.

"It was a morning practice on school grounds," he said, adding the coach was present at the time.

"In one of the moves they were performing, she evidently fell and hit her head on the ground," he said. "There was no loss of consciousness and no neurological deficit, but she does have a skull fracture."

Crown Point Fire Chief Gary Hughes said the teen was transferred to the hospital.

Cheerleading was one of the topics under discussion during last year's legislative session, and a law was passed requiring the Indiana State Board of Education to develop standards and guidelines on cheerleading safety.

Some coaches told lawmakers not every squad follows the rules on stunts.

Earlier this summer, Gerald Mohr, associate executive director for the Indiana Association of School Principals, said he is happy to see the state involved in cheerleading safety because his office doesn't have the authority to sanction those who do not follow the rules.

The association provides cheerleading competitions for students and requires all coaches whose teams participate to learn the safety rules.

The bill, Mohr said in May, "will reduce the number of phone calls about any given school not following regulations."